


Forgery and Other Lies

by nativehaole (sweeneybearsam)



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, mcdanno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-19
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-03-06 16:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13415355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweeneybearsam/pseuds/nativehaole
Summary: Another prompt ish thing I saw posed by guiltypleasurefandomface on Tumblr. Steve totally has a secret stash of stickynotes with 'Steven J. Williams' on them and it fucks him over. Or does it?





	Forgery and Other Lies

Steven J. McGarrett does  _ not  _ have crushes. 

He’s not a teenage girl, he’s a full grown, potentially lethal, very skilled Navy SEAL, and the post it notes he’s got stashed in a little Altoids tin in his secret compartment in his desk… well. Okay, those  _ might  _ look a little like he’s crushing on his partner, with the way his handwriting etched ‘S. Williams’ and ‘D. McGarrett’ and variations of ‘S + D’ on… probably close to thirty of them… but, the point stands. Grown men don’t have crushes. They have infatuations and appreciation for the people in their lives, and no… he can’t explain why, if it’s not a crush, he gives himself his partner’s surname. But he doesn’t need to. They are safely hidden from prying eyes, and he’s fine keeping it that way. 

He’s casual with when and why he makes those little notes. Sometimes, it’s late at night, when he’s working on case reports, or field notes, because thinking about Danny is a nice distraction. Thinking about a life they will never have together is a comfort, as long as he doesn’t remember that they won’t have it. He can say he won’t put the moves on Danny for professional reasons; a lie, because they crossed professional boundaries years go, or he can say it’s because of the sickness, and the uncertainty of what’s coming later down the line for him; another lie, because that should and would encourage someone to come clean with this shit. 

The truth of it is that he’s not sure he can handle the idea of becoming another ghost Danny can’t shake. The thought that Danny could and would probably leave the island he’s finally calling home to escape this ghost, meaning he loses the best part of himself. He can’t settle that with himself, not even a little. So, he contents himself with his notes. With seeing how different combinations of their names look, and how it sounds under his breath to introduce himself as Steve Williams, or Danny as Daniel McGarrett. It’s harmless, and that is why it goes on as long as it does. 

It’s probably also why it backfires so badly, about six months into his little game. He’s working late, but the rest of the team is still at the office too, Tani and Junior in her office going over some surveillance, Jerry on the com, and Lou going over case reports. He’s daydreaming on his own, somehow not aware that Danny is even in the building still, as he leans back in his chair. Adam appears, then Danny is behind him, politely pushing past him and gesturing to the door.

“You’re my ride, ready to split?”

Adam clears his throat, holding up a stack of papers that Danny eyes quietly, Steve reaching for them, knowing that they are writeup Adam mentioned needing him to sign off on, reading them quickly as he nodded.

“Let me deal with this for Adam and we can go. Adam, is this everything?”

“Yeah. I went over everything and made sure it’s there. Just waiting for your signature, Boss.”

Danny is suddenly right beside him as he sets the paperwork down, squinting at the lines he needs to confirm, then he’s brushing the blond as he reaches for a pen, Danny watching him move and without thinking- with Danny’s eyes on every stroke of the pen- Steve fucks up. 

**_Steven J. Williams_ ** _. _

And it doesn’t hit him, this mistake until Danny chimes in, reaching to snatch the paperwork, voice low in surprise. 

“You know the jokes about us being married are  _ jokes,  _ right? It’s very cute you think you’d take my name, but… unless you have a marriage license… or my folks adopted you… your last name  _ isn’t  _ Williams, buddy.”

“What are you--” 

He stops, though, because  _ shit _ , he DID write that. 

The gears in his head turn as he looks for an excuse, offering transparently. 

“It’s a habit. I’ve been forging your signature for years now, guess I wasn’t paying close enough attention to this being something you wouldn’t be signing off on. Grab me the white out, hu?”

Danny refuses to move, and then Steve notices that Adam is gone- he must have made his retreat when he realized what was going on, and when his partner doesn’t move to grab it, Steve pushes his aside and grabs it himself, whiting out the mistake and waiting for it to dry, refusing to look at him, letting Danny’s voice filter in as he re-signs his name, jaw clenching.

“You’ve been forging my signature? Why am I not surprised? Thanks for reassuring me that I can’t leave you alone for ten fucking seconds…”

He can’t believe Danny is accepting that flimsy defense, slightly hurt by how easily he goes with it… but he can’t argue or let on, because it would blow his cover, so he lets it go. Danny does too, wandering off to his own office to grab his things and returning as Steve stares at the mark, still surprised he fucked up like that, Danny reaching to hook an arm through Steve’s, cheek on his bicep as they finally head for the door, calling goodbyes to everyone, and it isn’t til they get outside that Danny speaks again, voice light and teasing… but words still affectionate. 

“I think McGarrett-Williams would work better. Sounds more… organic, or whatever.”

When Steve turns to look at him, Danny isn’t looking at him, he’s fumbling with keys to open the Camaro, then sliding in, staring up at Steve and prompting him.

“Come on, you putz. We need sleep. We can discuss you being a  _ very  _ bad boy when we get to your place.”

It hits him that Danny understands… that he’s not mad, he’s not bothered… and he’s doing what Steve couldn’t talk himself into- he’s making the first move. His nervous energy as Steve gets in makes him instantly want to comfort him, to assure him he’s not doing anything wrong, starting the car and risking taking Danny’s hand with his free one, waiting until they are on the way to chime in, words just as loving and gentle, as a confirmation for his partner.

“Steve McGarrett-Williams… I don’t hate it.”

“Because your name goes first, control freak.”

“You are the one who said you liked that combination!”

“I do, but you could pretend to be humble. This is why our marriage is always so strained.”

It’s weird how comforting this back and forth is… how reassuring it is that even if something happens tonight, or tomorrow, or next week… something that changes them in major ways… they will still have this. It’s them, and it’s perfect, and even though he’s been fighting it for a long time… he’s grateful that he’s been fighting it with someone who knows him on such a finite level that this isn’t anything he’s worried about. Not in a bad way, at least. 

And to think… it’s all because he’s an idiot who likes to pretend he doesn’t have crushes while he doodles his name inside a heart with Danny’s. 

Okay, so maybe Steven J. McGarrett  _ does  _ have a crush. 

Just one. 


End file.
